


Thieving Hearts

by orphan_account



Category: Doctor Who
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-29
Updated: 2013-10-29
Packaged: 2017-12-30 19:27:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1022503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>How did Melody come to find herself living in Leadworth? </p><p>This story is based after the events of TATM and DOTM.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Thieving Hearts

She walked without purpose that afternoon. Writer's block had, once again, taken its hold and she needed to clear her mind, and so she found herself wandering the streets.  
There was a slight chill in the air on this day; not unusual for the season but she did miss the atmosphere back home. Amelia had always enjoyed Christmas time more than any other time of year. Drinking hot chocolate by the fire with her family and, of course, her husband’s collection of ugly woollen jumpers.  
Ah, her family. She remembered how they used to celebrate Christmas every year with a crackling fire and a tree that filled the sitting room. How her father would perch on the ladder to decorate the top of the tree- despite his uncanny knack for throwing his back out- and how her mother would fret over him with every near stumble. She smiled at the thought of that last great Christmas: The Christmas that The Doctor came to call.  
He was never far from her mind, her Raggedy Man, nor was that fateful day when she broke his hearts. The look of complete devastation on his face as she faded was forever etched in her memory. She could still feel her daughter’s kiss on her palm as though it were seconds ago.  
Deep in thought and without realising, she had frozen on the spot. She stood in reminiscence for several moments, only to be shocked out of her stillness by a figure that had unexpectedly rounded the corner and collided with considerable force into her. 

“Oh! Excuse me, I am so....” the girl said as she stood and helped her off the ground.  
The girl's sentence trailed off as if her thoughts had been interrupted.  
“It was my fault, I shouldn't have even been standing there.” she replied in her, still strong, Scottish brogue.  
There was a moment of silence as they observed each other with intrigue. The girl must have been about 18, she thought. She was tall and lean with strawberry blonde hair that framed her face and complemented her blue eyes wonderfully. She was dressed in odd clothing. Some too big, some too small, she guessed that it was either found or stolen, and she carried a large bag on her back and another on her side. She was certain she had never seen the girl before but she felt an inexplicable sense familiarity toward her.  
“Do I know you?”  
The words came out of her mouth before she'd even realised she was saying them.  
The girl's eyes widened but she didn't speak. 

 

\--------------------------------

 

She walked past the small bakery with longing in her eyes, the scent of baking bread lingered in the air. She entered the ornate door and stared into the meticulously arranged cabinets; the baker eyed her suspiciously but said nothing.  
Melody smiled sweetly as she passed the counter and then snatched at a loaf of sourdough as she dashed out the door, the baker yelling after her in the distance as she ran, smile still plastered on her face.  
She loved to run. She always had and, in her circumstance, that was always a good thing. She didn't mean to upset people with her thievery but a girl's got to eat and if she hasn't a dollar to her name, this is her only option.  
She knew the baker was long gone now but the exhilaration she felt kept her going. Nothing could stop her now. Nothing except....  
She rounded a corner and collided with an ill positioned older woman. Both ended up in a tangled pile of limbs on the ground. Melody knew she was fine, she always was. But the woman couldn't have been much younger than 60. 

“Oh! Excuse me, I am so....” her sentence trailed off as they both stood. Melody looked at the woman. She had long hair that was obviously a vivid shade of reds and oranges at one point but was now streaked through with white. She seemed familiar to her in a way, but she knew it was impossible.  
The woman started to speak and it took her back to the earliest memory she had. She heard the voice of a beautiful woman speak to her. When she looked up, she saw her smiling down with her flame red hair cascading over her shoulders. She cradled her in her arms and whispered stories telling her to be brave and that one day, a big blue box would come and rescue her. How, she wondered? She never knew if it was real but it gave her hope.  
“I'm sorry, have we met?” asked the woman, looking almost as shocked as she felt. 

Melody was struck silent. 

\--------------------------------------------

"Hello? Are you alright?"

Melody shook her head. "Sorry, yeah... I- I'm fine." 

Amy observed the dimming light. It was almost nightfall.  
"It's getting late. Shouldn't you be getting home?" 

Melody shrugged. 

“Do you... have a home? Sorry, I don't mean to make presumptions. But you do look a bit...” her words trailed off. 

“What's your name?” asked Melody, abruptly breaking the uncomfortable silence.

“Sorry?” a mixture of shock and curiosity was evident on her face.

“What's your name?' Melody asked again.

“Williams. Amelia Williams.” 

“But you’re married.” She said this was posed as more of a statement than a question. Amy looked at the strange girl warily. “Yeah…”

“Amelia Pond.” the girl said with a confident reverence. 

Amy’s stance changed completely in seconds from uncertainty to defensive. Nobody was supposed to know her here.  
She grabbed the girl by the shoulders and pushed her to the wall, her nose inches from her face. “Who are you?” she spat. 

The girl flinched at her estranged mother’s sudden aggression, remembering the day that she last saw that look upon her mother’s face. Tears escaping from her eyes and at a loss for what else to do to loosen her mother’s grip. “It’s me! It’s Melody!” she shrieked. 

Amy loosened her grip, momentarily staring incredulously at her face, expecting to see some hint of a lie, seeing only fear and sincerity in return. She lunged forward once more and Melody flinched, but instead of being pinned to the wall, she was suddenly taken into her mother’s warm embrace. Melody cried into her mother’s shoulder. “I dreamed about you. Every night I dreamed you'd come for me but you never did!” 

Amy grabbed her face and gazed meaningfully into her eyes. “We looked. Don’t you dare believe that we stopped looking. We searched for years but we couldn't find you and then.....” 

Melody pulled away. “And then?” 

Amy stood for a moment; the solution to the once complex puzzle was forming in her head. “This must be how you did it. We asked but you wouldn't tell us. “Spoilers” she smiled fondly. 

Melody looked perplexed. “What?” 

“Would you like to come to our house for dinner? Your father isn't home until later on but I suppose we have a lot to catch up on.” Melody nodded eagerly and Amy led her back to the modest townhouse. Amy prepared a small dinner as Melody observed quietly. Having never been made a dinner, she found the entire process fascinating. By the time it was all cooked and plated, Rory was stepping through the door. Melody gazed upon him in awe. He was somewhat greyer than he once was and looking somewhat like his father- although a taller and slimmer version- but she remembered that face. The Roman that rescued her in her dreams. She stood as he neared the table, a puzzled expression on his face. Amy was positively glowing. “Hello Dad,” Melody beamed. 

Rory’s eyes moistened instantly as he took his, now grown, daughter into his arms. Amy looked on contently. 

“Don’t worry, crying Romans: still cool.” Amy teased. 

“Shut up!” he laughed. 

They sat at the dining table to eat together, all sharing stories of their lives up until now but making sure to leave out any “spoilers” as their future daughter would so eloquently put it. They told the story of their childhood friend “Mels."

 

'When we finally found you, you'd been there all along.’ 

\-----------------------

She stayed with her parents under the guise of being their young niece for 2 months and experienced her first real Christmas. They decorated the grandest tree they could find and drank hot chocolate by their little fireplace, exchanging small gifts and trinkets. Amy and Rory decided to splurge and bought their daughter a silver charm bracelet. There were three charms: one, a musical note, the others, a star and crescent moon. At the beginning of the new year, they began formulating a plan to ensure the timeline remained as is because, despite their being separated from those who loved them, they wouldn't change their non-linear mess of a life for anything. 

The weeks flew by and it was soon time for the three Ponds to say their final goodbye. It was only the beginning for Melody and for that, they were thankful. They journeyed together to Leadworth, knowing exactly how this story played out now. Melody hugged them both tightly, knowing that they would possibly not see her again, and then stood back. She was slowly engulfed in a golden light. She screamed in agony as her limbs shortened and she shrank down to the floor, her clothing burying her as she went. Amelia cried as she picked up her daughter, remembering the last time she held her like this. She was darker this time, her skin had a slight olive tone to it and her head was covered in tiny dark ringlets.  
Melody cooed as she gazed up at her father. He kissed her on the forehead and brushed a fallen tear from his wife’s cheek. 

“We've lost her so many times but it never gets any easier.” 

‘She’ll see us again.’ He said as he held her shoulders. “I know.” She smiled, as she placed one last kiss to her daughter’s head.

Amy wrapped her tightly in a blanket and then placed her into the basket; the bracelet clasped tightly in her tiny fist, and a note left by her feet containing only one word. 

 

~Melody~

**Author's Note:**

> I named this fic Thieving Hearts after a song by Emma Dean. It came on as I was trying to think of a title and it actually fits quite well, I think. 
> 
> I've gone over it in my head several times because I keep forgetting how I worked it out and I THINK this was what I was thinking when I started writing:
> 
> Little Melody was in NY in 1969 where she regenerated the first time. In LKH she told them that she became a toddler. I'd place that as her appearing to be around a year or two old. So around 18-20 years from that point, it would be close to 1988. Amy and Rory would be born around this point and so that allows Melody to be raised with them. I'm actually pretty proud of the plausibility of this because everything Mels did was to ensure her being born but how would she have known where/when to look for her parents? 
> 
> This is my first actual fic so I hope you liked it. If you didn't, I'll blame Caroline because she said it was good haha!


End file.
